Tes International

The founding head of School at Phoenix House in Japan, Claire Fletcher, joins the podcast to share her insights on working in several brand new schools in the international sector and the ups and downs this brings.From the reality of arriving at a school still being built to why she believes you have to interview teachers for new schools in person to sense if it's really for them, she reveals why life as a founding school is 'not for the faint-hearted' - but is also incredibly rewarding.She also offers advice on staying calm when everything around you is brand new and answers are sometimes in short supply - and why this makes recruitment a vital component of setting up a new school.

We chat with Claire Holmes, head of School Counselling at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore to hear about the school's approach to managing pupil transitions - both on arrival and departure - and why including parents in this work is vital.She also explains why it is important international schools give due focus to 'stayers' - those pupils that remain in a school throughout their education but see many of their friends, and teachers, leave on a regular basis - to ensure this consistent loss does not affect them unduly.As part of this she also explains why she has written books designed to help schools and leaders do all this as best as possible to ensure wellbeing of pupils - and parents - remains a top priority.

In this episode of the Tes International College we head to China to chat with Garry Russell, Head of College at Dulwich College Shanghai (Pudong) and Lavinia Tong, head of Admissions & Marketing, to discus staff retention.They explain why this is such an important focus for the school and through a mix of career opportunities and ambitious goal setting, coupled with a strong community ethos, they aim to keep staff with the school for as long as possible.They also talk about how they are developing pupil alumni networks to help build their community feel and ensure past pupil success and life stories can be shared with current cohorts.

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we head to Saudi Arabia to chat with Dr Steffan Sommer, director general of Misk Schools to discuss the school's approach to teaching leadership as part of its standard curriculum.He explains how the course was developed with links to the High Performance Learning framework, why there is a focus on both subtle, in-lesson ideas, and specific leadership classes, and the need to ensure this work develop leaders ready for the 21st-century.He also outlines why the school has appointed an independent researcher to evaluate the work with the intention of releasing findings on best practice in this area to help other schools develop similar frameworks in the future - both in the country and around the world.

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we head to Japan to chat with Mark Beales, the principal (MYP/DP) at Osaka YMCA International School, to hear about a bespoke assessment diploma pathway the school created to sit alongside its IB programmes.He explains why this was formed and how it was created, the importance of having it accredited by WASC, and the work done to make parents, pupils and teachers aware of its purpose within the school's offering.

We chat with Lizzie Varley, an education advisor with Cognita Schools based in the Middle East, to discover how a cross-school focus on student wellbeing encompasses everything from staff development and helping pupils develop a positive mindset to considering how artificial intelligence will change the world children will inhabit and preparing them for this.She also talks about the importance of senior leadership buy-in towards wellbeing initiatives and how to balance this with pressure to deliver high academic outcomes at scale.

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Chris Woodhams, assistant principal (Academic) at St. Joseph's Institution International School in Malaysia about how the school revamped its focus on students with English as an Additional Language (EAL).He explains how this involved bringing in outside consultants to help identify areas of strength and improvement, doubling its EAL department staff cohort and embedding a whole school approach to EAL including boosting training for staff to do this - and why all of this requires trial and error and giving staff time to develop these skills.

The director of the British School of New Delhi, Vanita Uppal, joins the Tes International podcast to discuss a major project in the school to overhaul its CPD offering to staff in order to ensure a consistency of quality and approach.She explains how this work was carried out and the practical changes they have made to incorporate this and why this project is now expanding to include administrative stuff too.She also discusses her own education career growth that has seen her spend 32 years at the school and the immense changes witnessed in that time.

In the first episode of the new academic year we chat with Simon O'Conner, director at Deira International School in Dubai and chief education officer of Al-Futtaim Education Foundation Chief Education Officer.He discusses how schools need to start thinking about the arrival of Generation Z teachers into the workplace, what they will expect from the world of work - from technology to how they are managed - and how this can be managed alongside the existing workforce.He also discusses the power of coaching to help drive career growth for teachers - and how school culture can make or break all this hard work.

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Daniel Jones, chief education officer at Globeducate, to discuss how the school group is managing the challenge of the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence, chiefly ChatGPT.This includes working to understand how it could benefit teachers by reducing workloads by generating lessons templates or curriculum ideas, through to the risks it poses from plagiarism to if coursework-based assessment can survive into the future.He discusses how this work has included forming working groups to bring expert insights from across its groups and the need for a continued focus in this area given its rapid evolution.

In the latest episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Evelyn Twebaze, the head at Oak International School in Uganda.She discusses how the school is coping with rapid growth and the changes this creates - from having to increase classroom sizes to building more accommodation for staff, and ensuring new teachers have the skills required to teach in a modern, forward-thinking way required for the setting.She also discusses the challenge of helping to diagnose children with special education needs and disabilities and provide the necessary adaptations for them, and the tricky art of explaining this to parents who are not always receptive to what they are being told.

We chat with Iain Henderson. Deputy Head (Educational Developments and Partnerships) at Wellington College and Chris Woolf, International Director, Wellington College International, about how private schools can run successful international school franchises.They discuss everything from the importance of regularly checking in with leaders at your overseas schools, to how you ensure you create the right ethos in a new setting that mirrors the home school.We also hear how their own Festival of EDucation is about to go global with new events planned by their overseas partners.

In the latest Tes International podcast we chat with Mark Leppard, the headmaster of The British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi about why he still finds time to teach in the classroom despite a school leader - and the benefits he believes this brings to his leadership.He also explains why the school has created its own leadership programme for students to help augment their learning beyond A levels - and how this course has evolved over the years.Finally he talks about how heads can avoid the loneliness that can occur when leading a school and the importance of maintaining close relationships with other senior staff or leaders across your region - or indeed the world.

In the first episode of a new series of the Tes International Podcast, we head to Oman to chat with Kai Vacher, the principal of the British School of Muscat, to hear about an initiative to deliver remote education to a sister school, 1,000km away.He explains how the initiative came to life before the pandemic and grow through various lockdowns to help boost provision for students at Key Stage 3 and 4 and increase pupil numbers too.Vacher also explains about the various hurdles and unexpected issues that can occur developing a program like this - and how to overcome them - to help any other school thinking of doing something similar get a sense of what might lie ahead, and why it's all worth it.

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Mark Steed, the Principal and CEO of Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong about how leaders can give staff meaningful career growth opportunities towards their own leadership goals. He touches on how this involves recognising you may lose talented staff over time - and why this should be embraced - and why existing leaders should spend time explaining the less obvious aspects of leadership to those below them to help set them up for the future

In this episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Liz Free, CEO and director at International School Rheintal (ISR) in Switzerland, about how she set about establishing a relationship with her board of governors that worked for both her and them to benefit the school, and why this isn't as easy as it sounds. She also discusses the tricky topic of when and how to call on external consultants to help you - from how you pick the right person or organisation for your needs and making it clear what you want them to do - and why sometimes you have to decide their advice is not right for your setting, even if you've paid good money for it.  All that and lots more...

In this episode, we chat with Matt Payne, the head of lower school at Nord Anglia International School New York, to hear about how the school works hard to ensure the induction process for new starters goes as well as possible. He explains how this starts at the interview stage as the school looks to get a sense of how candidates may settle in such a fast-paced and bustling city - and how they help them sort the numerous administrative tasks that await. He also explains why buddy systems are back after the pandemic - and why a scavenger hunt can be a great way to help people learn about their new home.

Tes talks with the principal of the British International School Ukraine, David Cole, about how he and his school community have coped during the Russian invasion of the country – and why keeping education going must remain the top priority, whatever the situation

Building strong relationships with the local community is something all schools seek to do - but it is not something that happens by magic and takes time, trust and effort to create genuine connections and dialogue. This is especially true in the international school sector, where many schools have been perceived as silos of privilege and may have struggled to integrate with the wider community. This was the challenge that faced Jonathan Warner when he became headmaster of the British School of Ulaanbaatar in 2019. However, as he explains in the latest Tes International podcast, he set about changing this from the start across the school - from getting pupils to see the reality of life beyond the school gates to reaching out to local government officials to build relationships and form long-term partnerships. He explains how he did this, the impact it has had, why he sees it as fundamental to the ethos of international education - and what it's like to live and work in Mongolia.

As the pandemic recedes in many countries around the world international schools are reporting an increase in safeguarding concerns as the impact of two years of studying at home and a lack of socialisation takes its toll. With this in mind, we chat with Kate Moskwa, principal of Abdulrahman Kanoo International School (ARKIS) in Bahrain, to hear about how her school has seen this issue play out and the work they are doing to support students and give staff the CPD they need to maintain their skills in this area. We also talk about the wider issues of safeguarding in the international sector - from the cultural differences between settings to the importance of using the expertise of local staff to discuss sensitive issues with families.

As recruitment season bubbles along in the international sector, we chat with experienced international head Jennie Devine to discuss the recruitment challenges, opportunities, pitfalls and trends that international schools - and those looking for new jobs - need to be aware of. This includes the importance of being transparent about a role, its responsibilities and pay, and avoiding issues such as ghosting where applicants are left in the dark about the outcome of an application or interview.

In the latest Tes International podcast we chat with the Secondary Principal at Bangkok Patana School, Bangkok, Matt Seddon, about a major change he introduced on taking up the role in August 2021 around academic target setting. He explains how, concerned targets being set by teachers for students were not ambitious enough and so, to counter this, he has put target setting entirely into the hands of students - guided by data on their expected outcomes - to help ensure everyone is striving for the best possible outcomes in their grades.

In the first episode of the new season of the Tes International podcast we chat with the director-general of the International Baccalaureate, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, to discuss his plans to transform the organisation in a post-pandemic world. This includes everything from how he is looking to embrace digital assessment to how he is thinking about remodelling the Diploma Programme based on his educational maxim of 'head, heart and hands'. He also outlines why he wants to broaden access to the IB to more schools worldwide and the challenges the pandemic has caused - and the opportunities it has created. We also touch on why he wanted to take on such a challenging role and why the history of the IB and the innovation shown by his predecessors has been occupying a lot of his head space since taking on the role in May 2021.

In the latest episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Douglas Kidd, director of curriculum X at https://www.ichk.edu.hk/home/our-school/secondary/ (International College Hong Kong) about the school's Fleixble Learning initiative, which sees students learning about a huge array of topics, from aliens and animals, to podcasts, poetry and photography. He explains how this came to life during the pandemic and the benefits it had for helping pupils complemented their remote learning with something different and why it carried on when school reconvened earlier this year. We discuss the logistic of getting something like this in motion and how it can evolve to become an integral part of school life.

The importance of having diverse leadership across the international school sector is something increasing being discussed. However, what can schools and teachers at all career stages do to make it happen? Julia Knight is the principal of EtonHouse International School in Bahrain and has been teaching abroad since 2012. She's learned firsthand how to make it to the top of the profession - and seen the hurdles and stumbling blocks that have to be overcome. She chatted to Tes about this journey, the issues she encountered, how they can be overcome and how the sector as a whole needs to work harder to make the path to the top easier for female teachers for the latest TEs International podcast

Being asked to design a new school curriculum is an amazing opportunity - but one that immediately comes with a lot of issues to address - from meeting the needs of those requesting it to ensuring parents understand its purpose. This was the challenge facing Brendan Law, the director general of Misk Schools Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Dr Terence Brady Misk, Innovative Curriculum Development Lead, as part of their work developing an entirely new curriculum as part of the Vision 2030 strategy in the country. They joined us on the latest Tes International podcast to explain what's informed their curriculum planning, the innovative approaches they are taking around leaderships and internships and how they're drawing inspiration from other approaches across the world.

This edition of the Tes International podcast is a special episode that brings you a discussion held between three of the biggest names in education research at the World Education Summit, for which Tes was the media partner. In the discussion are: Professor Andy Hargreaves the Thomas More Brennan Chair in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College and co-founder of the International Centre for Educational Change at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Pasi Sahlberg, the Professor of Education Policy at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia Pak Tee NG, Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, They discuss how they think the education world may change post-pandemic – from exams and assessment metrics to the use of technology in the future of education, and why wellbeing must remain a central focus of schooling across the globe.

In the latest Tes International podcast we chat with Niall Statham the head of physical education at Hartland International School in Dubai. He tells us about how moving to become an international teacher allowed him to pursue his love of rugby on the international stage and the opportunities this provided - not just as sporting enjoyment but boosting his teaching and leadership skills too.

In the latest episode of the Tes International Podcast we chat with Elise Ecoff, Nord Anglia Education's Group Education Director. She talks about the challenges and opportunities of leading a large educational school group during a pandemic and how she hopes education will evolve for the better as normality returns. We also discuss the importance of mentors to help careers flourish and why it is vital everyone is given the same opportunity to climb the career ladder so the very best individuals - and their ideas - have a chance to shine.

In the latest episode of the Tes International podcast we chat with Liz Free, the director of International School Rheintal in Switzerland. We dicusses the challenges and opportunities that the pandemic has created around CPD and teaching communities - from making it far easier to access CPD from anywhere in the world, to ensuring staff take the time to properly engage in sessions. She also discusses the hard decisions leaders have had to make during this period around staff leave and how those in senior positions can help one another by ensuring professional networks are maintained via video meet-ups.

In the latest episode of the Tes International podcast we speak with Rob Ford, director of Heritage International School in Chisinau, Moldova, about how he came to be working in the country and why other international teachers shoudl consider doing likewise. He also discusses the challenge of changing mindsets in a country where Soviet-era ideas of leadership can still persist and creating a global mindset in a new school in a nation that has historically been more insular.

In the latest edition of the Tes International podcast we speak to Bernhard Gademann headmaster at Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St Gallen, Switzerland to discuss the school's Talent and Enrichment Programme. This provides pupils with the opportunity to spend time, within the timetable, engaging in co-curricular activities, either in school or on location with firms, to gain real-life skills and experiences. We chat about how the school runs these activities and how other schools can set about doing something similar

Yogi and mystic Sadhguru discusses how he believes education must evolve in an era where technology has made all information available from a smartphone and a quick Google search. He says that because of this there is little to be gained from sticking to the same education frameworks and instead educators must focus on unleashing 'human genius' to create a new generation of young people equipped with the tools for the future - whatever that looks like.

In the latest Tes International podcast we talk with Oanh Crouch, director of learning at Globeducate, about her role overseeing the teaching and learning strategies in place at over 50 schools across the globe. She explains how her career path led her to the role, the importance of ensuring new education research is properly assessed before being implemented in a school setting and how to harness the power of learning communities.

In the latest edition of the Tes International podcast we chat with Beth Kerr, global director of wellbeing at school group Cognita, to hear about how she oversees the structure and focus on mental health and wellbeing for 45,000 pupils and teachers across the world. We discusses how the organisation set about creating a culture around wellbeing that would translate to school across different countries and cultures and the challenge - and opportunity - that lockdown and coronavirus brought to its wellbeing agenda.

In the latest edition of the Tes International podcast we talk with Andy Bayfield Leader of Teaching and Learning and Gary Cairns assistant principal for character and wellbeing at St Joseph's Institution International School Malaysia about how they set about creating a truly holistic approach to pastoral care in their school. They discuss how research helped them understand how to approach incorporating ideas of civility, compassionate and morality alongside more academic-focused traits such as grit and determination - and how this is implemented across the school

In the latest edition of the Tes International podcast we chat with Ian Thurston, Head of Secondary at Dar Al Marefa School in Dubai about a move to make homework optional for all subjects, except reading and maths. He dicusses why such a bold move was made, the catalyst behind it and most crucially of all - how parents, teachers and pupils reacted. And what the early impact has been like of implementing such a move while working in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the latest episode of the Tes international podcast we chat with Jennie Devine, an international school leader with 18 years experience working in the international teaching sector. Having taught in Italy, Scotland, Colombia and Ecuador she's has plenty of experience to draw on to offer advice and insights for those just starting out in an international role, those intrigued by the idea of teaching abroad and wanting to find out more or even those well-established but wondering how to move their career forward.

On this episode of the Tes International podcast - Director of learning at Aiglon College in Switzerland, Tomas Duckling, chats about how trips and expeditions help form part of its holistic Discovery Programme Curriculum that aims to provides pupils with an education experience that transcends traditional learning.

The latest edition of the Tes international podcast features an interview with executive headteacher of the British School in the Netherlands, Paul Topping, who discusses the challenges of reopening for secondary students and why leaders must engage with one another during this tough time.

Shirley Jacobsen, the head of the International Primary School at Rygaards International School in Copenhagen, Denmark discusses post-lockdown schooling four weeks after returning

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sat down with the principal of British School Muscat in Oman, Kai Vacher. They discussed the recent closure of Kai's school and how his senior leadership team took the entire teaching and learning programme online in less than 24 hours. They also explored the lessons Kai has learnt in the process and the advice he would give schools in Britain as they go through the same experience in the coming days

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell speaks to Cognita's education director for Asia, Andy Hancock, about the lessons schools in Europe can learn from schools in Southeast Asia, many of which have now been closed for months due to Covid19. They discuss moving your entire timetable online in a hurry, teacher and student wellbeing, and using parents as de facto teaching assistants.

In a Coronavirus crisis special, Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sits down with Kevin Ruth, executive director of the Educational Collaborative for International Schools. They discuss how schools around the world are coping with closure (sometimes for weeks on end), the explosion in online solutions to such closures and the resilience principals are showing in very trying circumstances.

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sits down with Joy Qiao, the chair of governors at Wellington Colleges China, and the entrepreneur behind the group. They discuss how the organisation came to be, working with Sir Anthony Seldon, merging both cultures and curricula, and her vision for multi cultural education.

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sits down with Graham Watts, the head of professional learning at the Association of International Schools in Africa. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss teacher development, school autonomy, service learning and the uniqueness of international education in Africa.

Tes's head of content Ed Dorrell sits down with Liz Free, founding director of the British School in the Netherlands' international leadership academy. They chat through the training of international school leaders and the unique challenges of teacher CPD in international schools. They also discuss the international sector's vast future demand for qualified teachers and the consequences for teacher supply in English-speaking countries.

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sat down with Steffen Sommer, the head of Doha College and vice chair of the Council of British International Schools. They chat through the issues facing large international schools, but also Steffen's extraordinary childhood, growing up behind the iron curtain

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sits down with John Gwyn Jones, chief executive of the Federation of British International Schools In Asia. They discuss recruitment and retention of staff, professional development, for-profit school groups and… Conoravirus.

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell sat down with Dubai College headmaster Michael Lambert to chat about his career in international education and his school's fascinating approach to pedagogy, research and teaching and learning

Tes head of content Ed Dorrell talks safeguarding and child protection with Jane Larsson, executive director of the Council of International schools and chair of the International Taskforce on Child Protection